Criminals on the Chinese mainland got a blunt warning yesterday of the consequences they face for trying to commit crimes in Hong Kong.

Vice-Minister of Public Security Bai Jingfu cited the example of executed gangster Cheung Chi-keung as the fate of those who attempt to abuse border crossings.

He issued the warning yesterday in Beijing while disclosing a series of measures to lift restrictions on mainlanders visiting Hong Kong and Macao.

Bai said the mainland public security departments will work more closely with Hong Kong police to combat the activities of a handful of criminals who want to capitalize on the opportunity of a more open border between the two places.

And he warned mainland criminals that going to Hong Kong to undermine public order there and endanger the lives and properties of people in the SAR would not be condoned.

He announced that residents of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai will be allowed to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis from September 1. Residents from the five mainland cities could apply for a pass and a visitor's visa to Hong Kong and Macao with their identification cards and residence booklets from that date onward.

Residents from the rest of Guangdong Province will enjoy the same privilege from May 1, 2004.

The visas will be valid for three months and for single or double entries. Holders will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong or Macao for a period of seven days at maximum.

They can re-apply for an indefinite number of times.

The effective date announced at the press conference yesterday was at variance with what Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua said earlier.

During his visit to Hong Kong on Tuesday, Huang said that the travel restriction on the three Guangdong cities would be lifted on August 20 and the privilege would be extended to the entire province by January 1, 2004.

In Hong Kong, Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan said that the new travel arrangement would boost the number of visits by mainland tourists from six million to ten million a year.

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